


The Kennedy Kid

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Category: Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bioterrorism, Blackmail, Experimentation, F/M, Kidnapping, Lengthy Work, Secrets, Terrorism, hostage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2507597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Picador pistol, a Hydra shotgun, a dead friend's son and a list of names was all Helena Harper left after her death for her daughter. </p><p>Aleora "Leo" Kennedy had spent most of her life living for her brother, Jason Fernandez. Her mother was dead and she'd never had a father. She climbed from the lowest sewer to the peaks of musical stardom overnight, all for her brother, five years younger than her. </p><p>For him, she would gladly make the descent back down, but would she allow New York to fall with her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kennedy Kid

April 23rd, 2020

Outside Paris, France

A red sports car was dodging through traffic, surpassing even the smaller Toyotas. It was a sleek crimson Ferrari, shimmering like fire in the orange haze of the sun’s setting blaze. Inside, the seats were an expensive black leather, as was the dashboard. Chrome rims had unrecognizable designs on them because of the speed.

A phone’s shrill ring disrupted the purr of the Italian engine, the only noise that had permeated the car. The man, only distinguished from the dark interior by his blond hair and pale skin, picked up the glass machine. Only one person would have this number.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Leon.”

“Helena?” The sports car nearly swerved off the road.

“Yeah. Look, Hunnigan gave me the number, but I lost contact with her shortly thereafter.”

“Why’d she give you the number? This is for her only.”

“Leon . . . I was being careless . . . I got infected. I can feel it inside me.”

Panic set in, even if his face was set. “Aren’t there any bases nearby with the Anti-C? Where are you?”

“I’m in some backward shack somewhere in Russia. Before I lost Hunnigan, I asked her about the bases. That’s actually why I called her. Leon, I’m alone out here. I set my coordinates to your phone. If you can contact Hunnigan, send them to her. Tell her that there’s a steel box under the kitchen sink and the key is hidden inside the bedside lamp. It has everything she needs. Leon, I’m sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t be sorry to me. What are you going to do?”

“You don’t understand. Not yet. Maybe, just maybe, you might never have to. I’m sorry, Leon.”

“Helena, what are you going to do?!”

“I love you.”

“Helena . . . !”

“Goodbye, Leon.”

There was a half-a-second when he heard the shot. Then the line went dead. He pulled the phone away and looked at the screen. The image of her stayed there. Below her image, all it offered in explanation was:

Helena Harper

CONNECTION LOST

. . .

DISCONNECTED

“God, Helena. What did you just do?”

* * *

**  
  
**

April 26th, 2020

Downtown Washington D.C.

A small blonde girl, no more than eight years old, boarded a bus with a smaller boy in tow. She was a cute little thing, and sadness was written across her pale features. Her blue eyes were rimmed with red and her head was bowed. The smaller sibling following her couldn’t have been more than one and a half, with Spanish skin and features. His chocolate hair matched his chocolate eyes and he kept sniffling, small tears dripping onto his jacket.

The blonde handed the tickets to the driver, who smiled kindly down on the forlorn children. “Is it just you two?”

“Yes, Sir.” The small girl replied, smiling at him even with tear stained cheeks.

“What are your names?”

“I’m Aleora, but you can call me Leo. This is my brother, Jason.”

“Sit behind me. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you on our way to New York.”

“Thank you.” The blonde smiled again, hoisting her sibling into the seat behind the driver. “What’s your name, Sir?”

“Will.” He replied.

“Are you all alone?”

“Yup. Would you be my company?”

“Sure. Won’t we, Jase?”

“Yeah!” The small boy wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Will through the mirror.

“To New York.” Will smiled at Jason and the boy squeaked and jumped into his sister’s arms.

“To New York.” Leo whispered. The heartbroken look on her face was back. She adjusted Jason like any mother and settled their little suitcases and bags closer to the window so no one could steal them.

“To New York!” Jason chirped, much more enthusiastic than his sister.

Will took one last, long look at Leo. She made his heart ache. She was too small to be so sad. So broken. He closed the doors to the bus.

The wheels started moving and Leo looked out the window. The same men who had came yesterday to tell her that her mother was dead rushed onto the platform, their suit jackets crumpled in their haste.

“Goodbye, home.” Tears welled up in her eyes but she angrily batted them away, as she did with a small section of her hair that kept falling over her right eye.

* * *

**  
  
**

April 30th, 2020

Washington D.C., United States

Claire sat in the front row, just staring at the oak coffin. Chris sat beside her, one paw of a hand holding hers, his other arm wrapped around Jill’s shoulders. On the other side of Claire, Sherry Birkin was quietly releasing her grief into Jake Muller’s black shirt. The mercenary had both of his arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly, lost in their own little world as they curled together at the far end of the bench.

The room buzzed with people Helena had known from the Secret Service and the BSAA, but only these five showed any open grief.

After the events in China, Helena had made contact with Chris and Sherry, meeting with them separately and making friends. Through Chris, Helena had made a friend in both Jill and Claire. After meeting with Sherry, Helena had come to decent terms with Jake, who had respect for a woman who could hold her own. The only person who’d known her better than the rest of them was currently not in attendance.

Sherry had told them that Helena’s two children had left D.C., but the Secret Service didn’t know where they had gone. They had taken Helena’s steel inheritance case and its accompanying steel key, as well as clothes, soaps and had completely raided the pantry. All the food was gone from the house. Only small memorial items had been taken, like photographs and pocket toys.

“Is this seat taken?”

Claire looked up a black suit to see a pale face and red eyes. Blond hair fell over the man’s right eye and cast a strong shadow, effectively hiding how torn up the man was.

“Leon?”

“Hey, Claire.”

“Sure. Sit down.”

Leon sat down. He looked at Helena’s coffin for a moment before slumping forwards, his face hidden in his hands. Claire reached across with her free hand and squeezed his shoulder.

“Sherry said you were the last one she spoke to.”

“I was.”

“What happened? It had to have been something bad. They told us she ‘went down in a gunfight’, but no one gets a closed coffin for a gunfight.”

“She got infected. She could feel it. I don’t know how she died, but I heard a gunshot and the line went dead. She told me she was alone.”

“Shh, shh.” Jake murmured, stroking Sherry’s hair. “Shh, baby, shh.”

“No!” The blonde choked out. Her sobs became a little louder, but she hid deeper inside Jake’s jacket.

Leon rubbed his hand along her lower back. “Sherry, I’m sorry. If there was anything I could have done, I would have.”

“How are you, Leon?” Claire insisted. He turned red-rimmed eyes back to his friend.

“Believe it or not, actually worse than I look.” Leon let out a choked laugh and leaned back, running his hands over his face. “Much worse.”

“Don’t blame this on yourself, Leon.” Claire took one of his hands. “She could have called any one of us. Sherry probably would have been the better choice. But she called you. She trusted you the most. She loved you, Leon. Even when you left on missions, when you left her behind, she only ever spoke highly of you. Personally, I think her praise boosted your popularity. She spoke of you like . . . like . . .”

“Like you meant everything to her.” Chris finished, breaking his silence. He looked over at Leon, his eyes unreddened but small tear paths lining his face.

“What makes the memories fonder makes them harder to remember.” Leon reached into his back pocket and pulled out Ada’s compact from all those years ago. Reaching inside his jacket, he brought out a single, thorny white rose. Flipping the compact open, inside was a new chip.

“What’s in it?” Claire murmured, nodding towards the chip.

“My phone’s recording of our last conversation.” He snapped the compact shut. “She told me that this was for the next time I see her. Ada. I don’t ever want to see her again. It’s people like her that are to blame for Helena’s death.”

He stood, walking over to the casket. He opened it the smallest bit, sliding the metal case inside. He kissed the rose, sliding it in as well.

“Sir,” One of the Secret Service came up behind him. “You can’t-”

“I can and I will.” Leon growled, a nasty, dark snarl on his lips. “She was my partner. She was mine.”

“Leon . . .” Chris warned.

Leon glared at the agent. “Get away from me.”

The agent fled.

* * *

**  
  
**

People in black slowly dispersed. The dirt over the coffin was settling, the flowers spread around the white marble headstone.

Jake was forced to take Sherry home immediately after the last shovelful of dirt was tossed back in the ground. Sherry had fallen to pieces, sobbing uncontrollably. Jake had to physically carry her off of the grounds, bidding quick farewells on Sherry’s behalf and leaving. Jill was shaking and before Chris could take her, Claire looped her arm around Jill’s hips, taking the blonde to her car.

Chris waved his sister goodbye, telling her to check up on James when she got home. He looked back to the headstone, catching Leon’s fall out of the corner of his eye. The normally stoic Secret Service Agent Kennedy was on his knees, head buried in his hands.

Helena Harper

Sister, Friend, Companion

“Where there is love,

There is a light for me.”

“Helena.” The moan startled Chris, who was snapped from his thoughts. Leon was subtly rocking back and forth, the only giveaway to his movement was his hair. Chris dropped down beside his buddy.

“Leon, it’s gonna be ok.” Chris wrapped his massive arm around Leon’s shoulders, expecting the man to try and salvage some pride by shoving him off. Instead, the man cracked further, falling against Chris’ chest and releasing a muffled moan of pain. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, trying to shake it off. Chris felt the tremors wrack the smaller man’s body, even as his composure slowly returned. The BSAA Captain heard Leon’s breath deepening, the tremors slowly fading out.

“Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“Did . . . Did Helena have any children through the eight years I was gone?”

Chris looked at her tombstone, then to her sister’s, Deborah, right beside it. He made his choice. “Not that I seen. She never really talked about her personal life, her experiences with you aside. Claire or Jill might know. Other than that . . . I can’t say.”

Leon nodded. “Did she find someone?”

“If she did, he’d have been there. And he was.”

Chris, under any other circumstances, would have laughed at the way Leon’s head snapped up, fire and pain mingling together in his eyes. However, these were not normal circumstances. “Who was he?”

“He was you. Her life was really the Secret Service, you, and whatever the girls did when they went to her house.” Chris smiled at the memory.

“I find it hard to believe that Helena would flatter me so much.”

“It’s not like she would open with stuff about you, but you . . . you were like Jake is to Sherry. You were a rock, a strength. Almost a purpose.”

“Some purpose.” Leon shook his head, then stood. “You got a ride home?”

“No. Claire took the Jeep.”

“C’mon then.” Leon’s lips quirked into a shy grin, motioning for the much larger man to follow. “I got a Ferrari and all the toys.”

“Oh,” Chris clasped his hands over his heart, mock-fainting. “The pains of being single!”

“The pains, indeed.” Leon rolled his eyes, suppressing a grimace.

* * *

**  
  
**

2031

New York, United States

The woman on stage, long hair falling around her, finished her spin and held out her arms, feeling the applause and cheers of her fans roll over her. The heels she wore weren’t exaggerated, her dress wasn’t too short and the neck was decently low. Maybe the pink of her outfit was a little more outrageous than most of her other costumes, which were more greens, blues and purples. All of it worked with her body: it blended nicely with the almost-too-pale skin and the blonde hair.

For her, it was nice to be back in her city. Sure, D.C. was where she had been born, but she lived New York. Her audience here was more dedicated here than anywhere around the world, and that was saying something.

Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy. That was who she was. She was nineteen, been a megastar in the music industry from New York since she was twelve and working since she was eight. Her albums never read her full name, however. They called her Leo. Leo N. S. Kennedy. The girl who had dominated the musical world, shaken pop music to the core and reinvented techno.

As she blew a kiss to a small girl in the front row, on her father’s shoulders like at every show, she smiled and winked. Walking over to the edge of the stage, she knelt down, motioning for the bodyguard to hoist the little thing onto the stage.

The girl looked like she could have died in that moment and be as happy as ever.

“Hey. What’s your name, little miss?” Leo smiled at the girl. She thought she might swoon.

“Jasper. Jasper Andreas.”

“That name is almost as beautiful as you.”

Jasper’s eyes lit up with glee. “Thank you! You have a really pretty name, too, Leo.”

She giggled. “Thank you. How old are you?”

“I’m eight years old.” Jasper replied proudly.

“Do you want to come backstage?”

“Can I?” Jasper’s eyes lit up and her whole little frame tensed up in anticipation.

“Why don’t you ask your dad if you can? Then I’ll bring you both back.” Leo stood again as the girl rushed over to the edge of the stage, waving her father over. Leo nodded to let him through and he came over.

“What’s going on, baby girl?”

“Leo asked me to come backstage! Can I go? You can come too! Leo said so!”

Jasper’s father looked past the ecstatic brunette. Leo smiled and nodded. “Well, I guess we’re going backstage.”

Jasper’s father climbed onto the stage, placing his daughter back on his shoulders and following Leo as she lead them through the winding passages that were far less glorious than the stage seemed to be. Jasper was entranced, however, even if all she saw was wiring and extra equipment. Leo unlocked a door and held it open for them, forcing Jasper back onto her own feet.

Turns out, it was her personal trailer.

Jasper ran around, moving from prized relic to prized relic. Her hands fluttered around the items, wanting to touch them but seemingly almost afraid that they would disappear if she did. The girl was startled by a tap on her shoulder.

“Jasper, you can take whatever you want.”

The girl’s eyes became saucers. “Really?!”

“Really.” Leo retreated and stood next to her father. “Might I ask, what’s your name, sir?”

“Brad Andreas.”

Leo extended her hand and Brad shook it. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Andreas.”

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful or rude, but . . . why?”

Leo smiled, then scowled and threw an irritating piece of hair that fell over her right eye off to the left. “No offense taken, Sir. I see her on your shoulders, in the same place at every show I do in New York. I always mean to get the names of people like that and I’m usually pretty good for it. I know you must spend a fortune taking her every time. I figure that I should give back somehow. This seems to be a fan favourite.”

“She talks about you constantly.” Brad murmured, smiling as Jasper touched one of the more popular dresses Leo wore. “She idolizes you.”

“I’m honoured.” Leo smiled. “She’s a sweet kid. I’ve seen her dressed up like me at a couple of shows. Who made the costumes?”

“We worked on them together.” Brad replied, sadness tinging his voice. “Her mother died from cancer when she was two. I’ve been trying my best for her since then.”

Leo nodded. “I lost my mother when I was eight. I wasn’t as lucky to have a father like you around. I didn’t have one at all.”

Brad seemed surprised. “Really?”

“Seriously. I had a younger sibling to care for too. Wasn’t easy. I don’t envy you.”

“At least I was an adult.” Brad seemed to become more sympathetic. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She flashed him a quick, strained smile and looked back to Jasper. “I’m good to go now.”

“Something like that.” Brad agreed, turning back to face his daughter.

“How much can I take?” Jasper asked breathlessly.

“How . . . about . . . as much as you can hold?” Leo winked, grinning as Jasper ran around the room, collecting her favourite artifacts. The little girl came back with arms overflowing with things. Brad looked horrified.

“Put some of that back!”

“No, no. My designers have the layouts for this stuff.” Brad deflated a bit, Leo’s hand nudging the girl towards her father

“Thank you! Thank you so, so, so, so, so, so much!” Jasper chirped.

“No problem. You’re my biggest fan in New York. This is the least I can do for someone like you.”

“Thank you.” Brad smiled. “Come on, Jasper. Scamp is going to be worried.”

“Scamp is our golden retriever.” Jasper beamed up at Leo.

“That’s wonderful. I’ll see you at the next show. Maybe sooner.” Leo winked again at the girl and her father as they left and were escorted back to the parking lot.

Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy had no idea how right she was.

* * *

**  
  
**

Present Day, 2031

New York, United States

“Jason?!”

Running through the small house, all Aleora found was heavy footprints. Everything was still here, where she’d left it. Everything, except Jason. Usually, if her voice had panic set in like this, he would appear from the woodwork, apologizing for scaring her. He hadn’t.

“Jason!”

She fell to her knees in the foyer. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialled 911.

“Hello, this is 911. What is your emergency?”

“My little brother’s been abducted!”

“Are you sure?”

“Would I call you if I wasn’t sure?!”

“Miss, calm down. What is your name?”

“Aleora Kennedy.”

“Spell that for me?”

“A-l-e-o-r-a. Kennedy.”

“And your brother’s name and age?”

“His name is Jason Martinez. He’s twelve.”

“Alright. Can I get a description?”

“He’s 5’2”, got tanned skin, chocolate eyes and hair and looks Spanish. His features are soft and boyish and he’s thin.”

“We’ll make a report and look into it.”

“Look . . . Look into it?! My brother has been abducted. What would you do?”

“Exactly what you’ve done, Miss Kennedy.”

“God. DAMN YOU!”

“Miss-”

Aleora stood in a fit of rage, throwing her cell phone against the closest wall. It shattered. Aleora felt no better.

“You’ll get your wish after all, Jase.”

Aleora ran into her room, digging under her bed and finding the steel case. She smashed her bedside lamp and dug out the small steel key. She unlocked the box with shaking hands.

And she cursed at what she found.

“This is it?!”

Inside the plain metal container was a folded piece of paper, a Picador pistol, a Hydra shotgun and a glass machine that looked like a next-generation cell with a headpiece. She picked up the paper, opening the folded material and furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

_Leon Scott Kennedy_

_Ada Wong_

_Chris Redfield_

_Claire Redfield_

_Albert Wesker_

_Derek Simmons_

_Jill Valentine - she might be Jill Redfield when you read this_

_Jake Muller_

_Ingrid Hunnigan_

_Adam Benford_

__

_Umbrella - TCGT-VU_

_Tall Oaks_

_Lanshiang_

_Tatchi_

_B.S.A.A._

_Secret Service_

__**  
  
**

_Raccoon City_

“Damnit, Mom.” Aleora cursed. “What is this supposed to mean?”

A feeling crept up her spine, making her subconsciously stuff the paper inside her jeans. She picked up the Picador, feeling the weight of the metal death-dealer settle almost comfortably. Aleora stood slowly, soundlessly. The feeling rose in her spine again and she snapped around, pointing the gun at the windows, which were clear and unopened.

“I can honestly say I’m impressed with your reaction time. I can definitely see your parents in you.”

Aleora kept the gun level, even though the voice sounded like it had come from behind her. An Asian woman sauntered forwards from the complete blackness, the Picador level with the space between her youthful eyebrows.

“Very much so, Miss Kennedy.”

“Who are you?”

“A good first question. My name is Ada Wong, darling.” She sauntered towards the steel box, knowing the Picador’s barrel followed her. As she reached down to touch the Hydra laying within, a bullet whizzed past her nose.

“Don’t touch things that aren’t yours. Didn’t your mother ever teach you your manners?’

“Obviously yours did. Threatening with a bullet it good. Very good. I’m not here to hurt you, if that’s what you’re implying. I just saw the men who took your brother.”

“What do you want in return for the information?”

Ada laughed. “You learn quickly. I want your help. This nasty group called the B.S.A.A. won’t leave me alone. I want your services. In return, I’ll get you your brother. Do we have a deal?”

“Why not just hire a mercenary?” Her blue eyes narrowed

“They can be outsold. I can pay them, an enemy offers more . . . it becomes old. Fast. You, on the other hand, need something I have. In turn, you have what I need. Mutually, this is beneficial.”

“What else do you get out of this, Miss Wong? There’s always something else.”

Ada huffed, pouting. “My, my. Your mother really did drill the U.S.S.S. into your head. I get back under the radar. Do you know how hard it is to hide when they’re looking for you? Trust me, it’s easier when they’re not.”

Aleora couldn’t help but smirk at the woman’s persona. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

“Can you please put that wretched thing away?” Ada snapped.

Aleora shook her head, that same damned piece of hair falling in her face again. She was having too much fun at this point however, to really care about it and chuckled. “Nope. My house, my rules.”

Ada rolled her eyes. “So be it, I suppose. Do you want the kid or not?”

Aleora lowered the Picador, holding it on her right side, even though both hands still clasped the hilt. She flipped the hair from her face. Ada raised an eyebrow at the action, but otherwise said nothing. “I may not be the best person for whatever job you have in mind. I’m sure I’m gonna have to hurt someone, so you better fess up some combat secrets.”

“Look at you and the big words.” She rolled her eyes. “If you’re anything like that mother of yours, you learn fast. This won’t be a problem.”

“Lead on, Ada.”

“I need the name.

“Ale-Leo. Call me Leo.”

Ada’s hands came to her hips and she gave Leo that look. “Something a little less . . . conspicuous, perhaps?”

Leo looked about herself. “Tell ya what. Meet me here tomorrow at ten thirty. I’ll be less . . . conspicuous.”

“We have a deal.” Ada flashed a brilliant smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“See ya.”

Leo never watched the Asian leave. She had other plans already forming.

Who was to say blondes are stupid?

* * *

**  
  
**

Ada walked through the same room she’d been in last night, exactly where Leo had told her to report. The things in the small home were scant, save that which, apparently, were deemed important enough to keep around, furniture aside.

“I can’t quite tell whether I’m happy you’re here or not.”

The voice of Leo startled Ada, though the woman hid it professionally.

“Well, who would I be if I didn’t make good on my promises?” Ada turned around, her hand glaringly arrogant. “I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what, Miss Wong?” A curved, golden eyebrow rose. The other was hidden by a cascade of blonde hair. It was clearly Leo who stood before her, but Ada’s memories told her much different.

The nineteen year old wore combat boots, dark jeans, a tight-fitting thermal t-shirt and a dark brown leather jacket with two white stripes that wrapped around the bicep on each arm. There was a holster wrapped around her right leg where the Picador rested snugly against her thigh. Her dress in itself was not the shock to the Asian’s system.

Blue eyes were set with intention, nearly akin to the shattering iciness of another Ada knew timidly, that in itself putting it mildly. Over her right eye, a thick waterfall of hair was cut short just between her cheekbone and her jaw. The long waves of the back had been cropped down to a barely-feminine length. On the left side of her head, her hair was cut even just below the tip of her ear.

“My hairdresser nearly died when I told her to cut it all off.” Leo smirked, but Ada was caught speechless by the same face from Spain.

Dear God, I should have known.

Leo’s brows furrowed. “Ada, are you ok?”

“Fine, Miss Kennedy.” Leo. Humph. I would think she’s being a smartass, telling me to call her that. However, even if I really do know next to nothing about Mr. Kennedy, he wouldn’t bail like that. “First things first, as you are certainly less conspicuous, we need to train you. Follow me.”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

**  
  
**

Leo rolled out of the way of a particularly large zombie.

“Training, huh?” Leo looked up to the camera in the white space. “Child’s play.”

Ever-trusty, the Picador had become Leo’s best friend through her training time in China. Ada had a nice place, as it were. It was very Chinese-oriented, but, Ada’s heritage considered, it was almost a humble way of interior decorating.

Leo had been here for nearly a year, fighting whatever terrible monsters Ada could find, or Ada herself. The Asian had always won up to about a week ago. From there, it became a contest of stalemates: they fought to see who could outlast the other. Leo, with her youth on her side, outmatched Ada here. She had learned many a decent acrobatic trick, both for the environment and for combat.

Over the months, she had gained Ada’s trust and occasionally an answer.

She knew who Derek Simmons was, for example. Chris Redfield was the man hunting Ada, and Claire was his sister. Adam Benford had been the President at the time of the first C-Virus outbreak. He was killed by some Secret Service agent in Tall Oaks. Lanshiang and Tatchi were the next places hit.

In her room at night, Leo slowly put the pieces together. The Redfields were B.S.A.A., and they in turn were hunting down bio-terrorists. Ada had been, at the time, under the employ of such an organization called, what do you know? Umbrella.

However, even with her “death” and Umbrella’s utter demise with the death of Derek Simmons, Ada hadn’t been able to get a word in. As far as Leo had gathered, Chris was after her for personal retribution. What that particular vendetta was for, Ada hadn’t yet said, but Leo knew that somewhere along the lines, Simmons had framed her. With what and how, she was still clueless, but every day that they stayed hidden was one more step to gaining Ada’s trust.

Ada wasn’t stupid. Leo knew this. The way she spoke, interacted and moved dictated this. She had been not-so-subtly asked why she was so curious. Neither was Leo stupid, and knew more of her mother’s profession than had ever been told to her. Leo said her mother spoke in her sleep, and she had mentioned some of those names. Ada had just sat back in her chair and regarded her for a moment. When Leo just cocked her head and raised her visible eyebrow, Ada smiled.

“I believe you,” was all Ada had to offer. Leo made a face of confusion, and Ada’s smile grew. “Innocence is bliss. Innocence is also a pass. Remember that.”

Leo had learned it. She had mastered it. Fooling Ada had been a test of that. If she had been caught, she was done for. But such was not the case, and that solitary lie had stuck.

Head back on her shoulders, Leo looked back to her ugly B.O.W.

“Bye-bye, Ugly.” She pulled her Hydra out, headshotting the thing. It fell, leaving a crater in its wake as its body fell to no more than ashes.

“Well done.” Ada’s smooth voice glided over the PA system. “You’re done for today.”

* * *

Leo dropped down from a vent into a stark white lab. Before her, Ada faced a man completely clothed in black. His hair was blond and his skin was pale, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

Who wears sunglasses in a lab, at night?

“I told you she would make it.” Ada smirked. The man quirked his lips up at the young blonde he was facing.

“Your name?”

“You first.” Leo snapped back without intending to. However, his grin only widened.

“Albert Wesker. Again, your name?”

“Leo.”

“Leo . . . what, my dear?”

“Kennedy.” She stood warily. “Albert Wesker, huh?”

An eyebrow rose. “Indeed. Is something . . . unsettling . . . about it?”

“Nope.” She grinned at him. “Ada said that if I got in, you were who she was working for, who needs some Chris Redfield guy off your tail. Is that it?”

“With considerable less finesse, yes.” Wesker inclined his head.

“Anything I should know about him? Or, perhaps, what your issue with the B.S.A.A. is?”

Wesker broke into a grin. “They have issue with me. I only seek to change the world for my own benefit. People have done it in the past. The B.S.A.A. took offense to my approach. Raccoon City really wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”

Leo’s hand brushed against her hip, where she felt the paper shift against her skin.

He mentioned Raccoon.

“Wesker, I may have had her for a year, but even I haven’t let her know that much.” Ada said. “And Leo, I promise it really doesn’t have anything to do with you, per say.”

“No offense taken.” She brushed some hair off of the bridge of her nose.

“Welcome to Umbrella.” Wesker smiled, turning away from her. “Follow me.”

* * *

**  
  
**

Leo clutched her chest and resisted the urge to cough. That kick had sent her flying. She wasn’t used to that kind of power and resilience, but it started down at her.

Wesker grabbed her and hoisted her into the air, his hand clasped unforgivingly around her neck. She choked and sputtered, but he just threw her back across the room. Slowly, arrogantly, he stalked over to her. She didn’t resist coughing this time and was faster to recover. He went to reach for her, but she shot at where his head should have been. He ducked it like she wanted and she stabbed her combat knife into his knee. That gave her enough time to stand and back up. She spun around and roundhouse kicked him in the face, making him stumble back. She rolled from her position to another just in case he blindly fired.

“Bitch.” Wesker hissed, though there was the slightest hint of surprise in his voice. Looking to her, she had his glasses perched on top of her head, her gun aimed between his eyes and her brain calculating the best and safest way of retrieving the combat knife currently embedded in the Tyrant’s leg. Wesker slowly pulled the blade from his leg and tossed it in an amazingly accessible location. To his pride, she didn’t dive for it. Her eyes trained on him, and they narrowed. “Very good, Miss Kennedy. You’ve done above the standards for someone of your structure and age. Go. We will resume tomorrow.”

“Kay.” She let the adrenaline fall from her system and let out a shaky breath.

To his astonishment, she kept her eyes on him, even as she knelt down to retrieve the combat blade. She watched him all the way to the door, then shut it.

“She learns quickly, doesn’t she?” Ada’s voice came over the PA system of the training room.

“Indeed. Too well, it would seem. Are you sure she is uninfected?”

“I tested for everything. I have her whole medical history and what I could dig up of her family records. It doesn’t help that the last time she had a parent was at age eight.”

Wesker said nothing in reply and followed Leo’s lead of retreating to his room to clean himself. It had been a long time since someone was able to get in close combat range with him to actually do any damage, but he had to limp his way to his room because she had torn or severed many of the tendons he needed to walk. It was a strange sensation, even after he healed, to realize that someone as unspecialized as Leo was able to injure him. But, then again, maybe that’s why.

* * *

**  
  
**

“This is what we’ve been working against?” A soldier kicked one of the corpses. “Why don’t we just start a Crusade? They’re both equally useless!”

“Anderson!”

The soldier snapped straight, looking into the very face of his Captain, Chris Redfield.

“What, Sir?”

“Don’t you dare kick it again. We’re here because this is dangerous. This is terrorism. You signed up for this. If you want to bitch about this, you can walk out of the BSAA right now and say whatever the hell you want. Otherwise, keep you eyes ahead and target locked between the eyes.”

“Sir,” one of the rookies called. “We’re not alone.”

Chris turned and scanned around him. a flash of darkness caught his eye. His assault rifle leveled, as did his team’s, and they crept over towards the Last Known Position (LKP).

“He was right. You do move quietly for a bunch of dudes with guns and heavy gear.”

Rifle snapping up, Chris only saw a pale hand disappear off of the ledge of the roof of a nearby building.

“Spread out.” Chris whispered. “Smoke out all surrounding buildings.”

“Sir.” The team acknowledged.

Chris, on the other hand, lowered the rifle and walked into the middle of the street. “C’mon then. Out with ya.”

He felt the boot connect with the back of his head, but when he recovered, whoever had come after him was gone. A piece of paper was before him, however, with the words I’ve seen you now written across it.

“Wesker.” Chris growled. “You bastard. Who do you have this time?”

* * *

**  
  
**

“Pick up the pace, Miss Kennedy.”

“Going, going.” Leo replied, bringing the large, heavy piece of machinery into its perfect place. She screwed the last bolt on and sighed, watching Wesker adjust his clothing back to perfection.

“Excellent.” Wesker put his trench coat back on as the spry teenager dropped down behind him. For a man in his early seventies. . . “Ada, start the testing.”

“All ingredients active. Everything’s online and ready for the employer.”

Wesker bristled a little at the last part, but continued without a word over to the computer. He scanned over something, then looked up to Leo. “What do you know of viral diseases?”

“They’ll kill you.” Leo replied simply. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have past a grade three education. Not formally.”

“What do you know informally?”

“Up to grade seven math and how to write a decent paragraph.” Leo stopped on the opposite side of the screen.

“Not much.”

“I seem to be very receptive, however.” She said, blinking at him. “I learned how to fight in less than a year when I’d never had any experience.”

“That could also be attributed to the teacher.” Wesker pointed out.

“Not when a horde of zombie things is running your way.” Leo retorted.

Wesker allowed his shades to slide a little down the bridge of his nose and looked up at her above the rim of the lens with a Keep fuckin’ talking look. Needless to say, as she was no longer of use, she shut up and left.

* * *

**  
  
**

“You called?”

Chris sat on a ledge, thinking on the events of two months ago. He didn’t know the other person who had struck him, only that it was female. The force of that blow, though, still made him shiver to think about. Looking up, the BSAA captain was met with the staunch blue eyes of Agent Leon Scott Kennedy.

“Yeah. I need your help, Leon.”

“With what?”

“I think Wesker’s back. They won’t let me go to check it out, though. Sheva checked out Kijuju and it’s clear, so he’s not there. I think he might be hidden in the remains of Raccoon and possibly even the Hive. I can’t go against orders, but you’re separate . . .”

“You want me to delve into a painful memory just to make sure some guy you killed is actually dead?” Leon’s eyebrow raised. “Just as long as you know what you’re asking of me.”

“I need you to see if your dispatcher can find out his location, if there is one. It’s not like Ada Wong or someone else from that damned company would seek me out.”

“Did you ever figure they weren’t Umbrella?”

“They had to be. Anyone else would have already died. Anyone who would want me dead is either a B.O.W. or a terrorist, and they don’t get inside the fray themselves. You know that.”

“I’ll look into Raccoon.” Leon said softly. “Don’t expect any miracles.”

“Thank you. This is more than I should ask for.”

“It is.” Leon said, turning and walking off into the camp. Chris hung his head.

* * *

**  
  
**

“BSAA incoming.” Leo reported, sitting on top of a large sign in New York. The sign underneath her was an Entertainment Tonight advertisement for the gossip involving her disappearance. She would have laughed if she wasn’t in such a situation.

“Confirmed.” Ada’s smooth voice echoed over the comm link. “Svetlana?”

“Yes?” The clearly Slavian female voice came back over the radio.

“Orders.”

“Arm the bombs.”

Leo froze. “What bombs?”

“The ones you made, idiot.” Svetlana’s voice snapped back.

This isn’t right. This is what I’ve been doing? Being a bio-terrorist myself?

“Armed and awaiting trigger activation.”

“Take care of the BSAA while we work on the trigger.” Wesker commanded.

Without a word of response, she clicked her ‘confirm’ button and climbed down the sign. Her mic went dead as she made it one-way reception. This way, they wouldn’t hear the labour in her breaths and it wouldn’t distract Wesker. That man was a bastard when he was mad.

* * *

**  
  
  
**

The BSAA landed in New York, fanning into the area when Leon had discovered the remains of an operation in the bowels of the Hive. Leon's information had always been infallible, and it had lead then to New York. Said agent was with them currently.

“What’s that?”

Looking up, Chris watched a sleek body climb down an Entertainment Tonight sign.

“That must be Wesker’s new lapdog.” Chris murmured. Before he could say anything else, Leon was off at a dead sprint. Chris would have felt envious of Leon’s fluidity if he could simply throw the cars out of his way. “Follow Kennedy!”

* * *

Leo heard the call from the BSAA captain she had knocked down. “Follow Kennedy!”

This would cause complications.

They knew who she was.

This was very, very bad. She hoped to God that she was the only one listening to the BSAA comms, because Wesker would slaughter her for sure if he knew they knew who she was. Could her day get any worse? Just asking, she knew, was tempting fate.

Instead of dodging straight to her destination, she now had to circumvent in hopes of losing them. She cursed many times in her head for the fact they seemed to show up at the worst times.

Why can’t anyone just let me work my way through it?

Bullets whizzed past her head from a pistol, and she ducked, weaving into an alley. Just like Ada had taught her, she pulled the grapple from her jeans and shot it up. It caught on steel, and she shot into the air. She took to parkour, but even that was hazardous. They had snipers on the ground trying their damnedest to hit her hands. Her only saving grace was that she seemed to disappear in the night skyline in her darker clothes. Even her blonde hair died down its intensity obediently.

“This button sets off the northern sector, this the southern.” She heard Wesker over the comm. “This is west and east, as you could very well imagine. This is the master control. That bomb is in Grand Central.”

Changing course. Leo jumped off the building, catching a steel beam and shimmying across it. The northern bomb can wait.

The BSAA seemed intent on following her, however, and she was awaited at Grand Central.

“Dammit.” She muttered when she landed, looking at the faces of innocent officers, all only trying to do their duty. “Move aside. There’s a bomb in there.”

“We already have a bomb squad inside, ma’am.” An officer replied. “No need to fear.”

“You’ll get us all killed.” Leo hissed. “He’ll know as soon as you start to tamper with it. It’s a bio-terrorist bomb!”

“Ma’am, calm down-”

“Get out of the way, Poindexter!” She kicked his knee out from under him, flipped over his shoulders and bolted inside Grand Central. She took the stairs three at a time and took a left. Please be where the plans said.

When she got close to the bomb, the bomb squad was about to open the panelling.

“Don’t! You’ll kill us all!” They stopped to look back at her, and she shot them in the head. She ran over to the machine, making sure it was undamaged. She unfastened bolts and broke open the main chamber. She took the vial of the killer virus and replaced the plating. “Thank God.”

“There they are!”

Despite it all, the bomb was still explosive and readily dispatchable. She took off out the window, the grapple connecting to the building across the street and allowing her escape.

* * *

Leon knew as soon as Chris had yelled that she would be gone. He shoved past the other men and back down into the police quarantine. These are ground modules. Where are the others, then?

“Kennedy, where are you going?”

* * *

Away from the BSAA. Leo answered the BSAA Captain in her head.

“Are they armed yet?” Svetlana snapped irritably. Leo heard Wesker hiss in frustration and allowed herself a breathless giggle. Only Chris Redfield and the mention of Kijuju pissed the man off as much as he was being pissed off now.

“If you would keep silent, there would be no delay.”

“How dare you?!”

“He doesn’t have anything to gain from detonating those explosives, Ms. Belakova.” Ada reminded the ex-president. Leo rolled her eyes, a smirk slipping onto her lips.

“And what of that girl? Leo Kennedy?”

“What of her?” Wesker’s voice was tense and angry. He was disgruntled by his loss of control over the situation. “I’ve been working with Leo for months. Were she to have ratted out this operation, I would simply kill her and detonate everything early. It isn’t as if I’ll suffer harm.”

The thought made Leo cringe, but she knew that it was necessary. And for Jason’s sake, she couldn’t do anything right now. But was one person really worth the life of the whole city? She couldn’t make the call.

* * *

“Give me that.” Leon pushed one of the police officers off of the motorbike he was resting on. He threw his leg over the side and fired up the engine.

“You can’t do that!” The police officer spit out, but Leon was already gone. Another officer looked over.

“I guess he can.”

* * *

Leo cursed. Loudly and obnoxiously. A NYPD motorbike, with police lights flashing, hit her. She went flying, but rolled back onto her feet and took off again. She couldn’t take the risk of getting recognized further or associated with this event, and she had better things to do than tear some inconsiderate jerk a new one.

The bike followed her, however, and she increased the speed of her sprint. She hit the northern section next, disarming the bomb as fast as she could with shaking hands. She almost dropped the vial, but managed to secure it and be gone before the person trailing her could get into the subway. Her next target was the western wing, and she slipped into a subway car, taking it out to the edge of the city. From there, she followed the detonation trail and disarmed that bomb. She was as successful as she was on the other two on the southern. She was a couple miles away from the eastern bomb and running low on time. Suddenly, she felt a shot wiz past her head and she ducked to the side. The streetlights burst from a power overload.

Shitshitshitshit. Wesker’s almost ready for the charge.

She was tackled sideways and slammed into the hood of a Nissan.

“Who are you and who are you working for?” The person she would be fighting was male. The leather creaking against her own jacket and the sound of denim grinding as he moved gave her a pretty accurate idea of his size. He didn’t seem that much taller than her, but he had muscle behind his strike. Should be fun.

“Ladies first.” She threw over her shoulder, kicking out and connecting with his knee.

He reeled back, and she flipped herself up onto the hood. “It’s been fun, but the world might end, and I need to go.”

A gunshot whizzed past her leg and sliced through some of the flesh on her thigh. She jumped just in time to avoid her leg being struck out from under her by her assailant. She landed and rolled off the other side of the hood, running around the back and sliding, bringing the man down onto one knee. She flipped herself back into a standing position and only barely managed to block a knife with her own. The combat metal gleamed thirstily as the man’s blonde hair shadowed over his face. She hissed, feeling the blood seep down her jeans.

“The BSAA forces are on the move.” Ada reported. Leo ducked, the razor-edged knife trimming her bangs. “They’re converging in the eastern sector. Leo, report in.”

Said addressed woman twisted sideways at an odd angle and clicked the comm. Her laboured breathing came over the radio.

“Little busy.”

“Where are you?”

“East sector . . . keeping the BSAA busy like he wanted.” She hissed breathily, spinning around and striking the man in the ribs with her boot. He grabbed her and spun her around, forcing her off-balance and sent spiraling over the asphalt until she hit another car.

“You need backup?”

Do you think?! “Intel would be nicer.”

“On what?”

“Man. About my height. Badass. Not BSAA regulated but armed and with combat training, and by the feel of my muscles, experience.”

“Not BSAA regulated? That rules out Redfield.”

“If you’re not going to be helpful-” Leo jumped up, kicking the man in the head whilst landing back-first on the hood of the Dodge behind her, rolling over it to the other side. “-then don’t say a word.”

“Are you done?!” Wesker snapped.

“Sorry Wesker.” Leo whispered, clicking her comm back to one-way.

Leo somersaulted out of the way just as the man landed where she had been. She kept low, trying to gain an advantage. He caught up with her before she could. She barely avoided the gunshots he fired and he just missed having the tendons in the back of his leg sliced out. He managed to jump over her and pin her down. They came to a stalemate of her combat knife to his throat and his pistol to her forehead. They were both breathing heavy, and shaking slightly.

Headlights flooded the area and she was lucky that she didn’t look over to the source. The lights illuminated her assailant, and she was almost shocked into dropping the knife. The man looked a lot like her, right down to the haircut and colour. He had the same icy blue eyes and nearly identical style of dress.

“Who are you?”

He looked down at her, seeming to notice that she looked like a younger, female version of him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at her appearance.

“Leon?!” The cry came from that BSAA Captain that she had hit. She remembered his bulk.

“Chris! Over here!”

The hulk of a man came up, newly identified as Chris, followed by a much thinner man dressed in black with red hair.

“Leon, you ok?” The redhead asked.

“Yeah. Thanks Jake.” Leon breathed. He stood up, his pistol still aimed at her head.

“Who is she?” Jake motioned.

“Dunno.” Leon answered.

“Who are you?” Chris asked.

“Ah-ah. You owe me your names first. You chased me down and attacked me. I think it’s a proper courtesy.” She hissed in response.

“This is Agent Leon S. Kennedy, this is Jake Muller and I’m Captain Chris Redfield.”

“You and the rest of the BSAA have lousy fucking customer service.”

“Your name?” Chris asked impatiently.

“Leo.”

“Leo what?” Jake demanded.

“Kennedy.”

“Kennedy?” Leon stared at her, his mouth partly open.

“Yeah. Want my full name? Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy. Happy? How lower the gun and we can go about our days.” Leon S. Kennedy. He was the first person on the list. Chris called him ‘Agent’, which means Secret Service. What’s he doing working for the BSAA, then?  She felt the paper shift against her hip. Chris Redfield. He’s BSAA, another one mentioned. Jake Muller. Who does he look like? She studied the man for a long time as Chris and Leon spoke quickly and quietly. Wesker. He looks like Wesker.

“What do any of you know about Langshiang, Tatchi or Raccoon City?”

At the mention of Raccoon, Leon froze up. His tone was dark and deadly, worse than any threatening voice Wesker could come up with. The question was deliberately slow and cold. “Where did you hear about that?”

“Do you know the significance of the place?”

“My sister, Claire, and Leon were some of the only survivors of Raccoon.” Chris answered somberly. “The Umbrella Corporation, or Neo-Umbrella now, were making viral weapons and selling them on the black market. Raccoon was the first victim.”

Then it clicked. Umbrella and the letters next to it. T was the Tyrant Virus, like Wesker had. U was Uroboros, which Wesker spoke about a clone releasing in Africa before Chris Redfield ruined his plans. T-V was for the T-Veronica Virus, which Wesker was impersonally responsible for. C was the C-Virus outbreaks that were increasing in intensity and frequency around the time of her mother’s death. The G-Virus was a small incident that Ada had talked about offhandedly a couple of times. Still, many of the names and places didn’t make sense. What did they have to do with anything?

“Tatchi and Langshiang were some of the original outbreaks of the C-Virus in China almost twenty years ago now.” Leon said quietly. “If it weren’t for Jake, the vaccine wouldn’t exist.”

“And Ingrid Hunnigan?”

“Where are these names coming from?”

“What did Derek Simmons do? Adam Benford was a president, what does he have to do with anything? He was killed in Tall Oaks, but it doesn’t make sense.”

“Where are you learning this?!” Leon hauled her to her feet, the pistol back to her head.

“My mother!” Leo finally spit out.

“Good work, Leo.” She heard Ada say. “I know you’re probably occupied, so don’t reply, but well done with keeping the BSAA occupied. Wesker’s draining the power now. I would get out of the City.”

“Damn it!” She shoved Leon back. “Get out of here! Because of you, I don’t have time to disarm the last bomb! Get everyone you can out of the eastern region of the city!”

“What about the others?” Jake asked quickly, stopping Leon and Chris from making the situation worse.

“The other bombs have already been disabled. Move!” She pulled out her grapple and disappeared into the night sky.

“Ada.” Leon hissed, storming back to the bike.

“Leon, what’s going on?” Chris demanded.

“Who else does she know that she didn’t mention? Helena. She’s Helena’s daughter! I know it. That’s why she didn’t ask about Kijuju, or the Spencer Estate, or Rockfort Island or Spain and the Las Plagas. We need to help her now and find out what she knows and what she was doing here later.”

“Isn’t Leo Kennedy a singer who’s gone AWOL these past few months?” Jake asked, looking up at an Entertainment Tonight backlit billboard. Aside from the hair, the clothes and the filth lining her face, that Leo N. S. Kennedy looked remarkably twinish to the Leo Kennedy that they had pinned on the ground a few moments ago. Suddenly, the add fuzzed. All of them did.

* * *

Leo searched frantically for a broadcast station. She knew from experience that there were at least a couple hundred in the city, and she ran like a madwoman trying to find one. She spied one that was a centralized system and broke down the door, hacking the system. She hooked up her phone’s camcorder into the system and started transmitting.

* * *

Leo’s filthy, grimy face appeared on all the screens, and she held up handwritten notes that explained what she expected of them and why.

In less than twenty minutes, a bio-terrorist bomb will explode with a C-Virus variant that will recreate Tall Oaks. Evacuate to the northern, southern or western sectors of the city, but do not enter the subway system. There are disarmed bombs there that have been neutralized virally. However, they are still active explosively. Move! You’re running out of time!

The image froze there, and the BSAA agents were sure that it had also broadcast into the apartments and homes nearby.

“I think we need to get outta here.” Jake said, jumping behind the wheel of a troop transport. “You comin’? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t want to be here if that damn things goes off!”

* * *

Five explosions rocked New York, and they were by no means small. They were enough to disperse the infection over the whole city. However, it was only over the eastern side that there lay a thick bluish haze over.

Leo could feel Wesker’s stare, and refused to meet it. Ada had come by to pick her up, and Leo almost wished she hadn’t.

“Why?”

Wesker’s simple one-word question made Leo jump. The Kennedy kid flickered her gaze over to him, then back out of the helicopter window.

“Because I had to.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“One person’s life isn’t worth the death of an entire city. Even if it is Jason.” Angrily, she brushed tears away. “I’ll have to find him another way. I’ll track Svetlana down, and I don’t care how much it takes.”

“She doesn’t have him.”

“Then where is he?”

One of the things Wesker had been grateful for when he met her was how simple she was. No tedious hows or whys. Just tell her what she needed to do and she did it.

“Back in the Hive.”

“Where we were working?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“In the labs.”

“What have you done to him?”

The assumption made him want to strike her, but he did not. “He was a critical key in the virus’ development and mutation.”

“Is he dead?” She paused.  “Or worse, infected?

“Not dead and refuses infection. We used his immune system to make the virus stronger, more aggressive, as per the order of the employer.”

“Svetlana Belakova isn’t an employer. She’s a bitch.” Leo replied. “How long has he been in your possession?”

“Since Ada brought you to the Hive.”

“Ok.”

Ada peeked over her shoulder and caught Wesker’s helpless twitch. Leo was just looking out the window again.

“Do you realize how much you’ve set me back with viral development?”

“No.”

“It will take years to remake the progress with the appropriate amount of test subjects. It may take decades to reassemble this research.”

Ada landed the chopper on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Leo opened the door to the chopper and just as she was about to hop out and board the Umbrella submarine, she turned to him. “Good.”

Wesker’s eyes flashed red and his temper flared and he dashed out of the chopper, striking her down. “How dare you?!”

“You opened yourself up to this.” She snapped, pushing herself back up. “You and your god complex. You don’t want someone with a conscience? Don’t pick someone that would do anything for a kidnapped family member.”

“You belong to me. Watch what you say.”

She openly scoffed. “I don’t belong to a goddamned person. I dragged myself up from the gutter, you ass. You want power? Recognition? Fear and respect? You’re not gonna get it from me after this.”

Ada grabbed his arm before he killed the poor girl. “Wesker, she’s not worth killing.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She made a valid point. You should have hired back Krauser, or HUNK. All she wanted was her brother, and she’s leaving once she gets him.”

* * *

Leo’s pistol was cocked and ready: there was a reason that Wesker had chosen this place as his base, and it wasn’t for the looks.

Though many of the infected were gone, that was only in the primary labs, where they had been working. Between her and the next room, at least six of the infected wastes of space were shambling about. She wanted to scream in frustration. However, the young blonde had never given in to anything. Not despair when her mother died, not crime when she was nothing but a small girl trying to provide for her brother, not fear when Ada appeared in her room, not pain when she trained with Wesker, not panic when she thought Redfield knew who she was, not terror when she faced her first B.O.W and certainly not uncertainty in herself. She knew who she was and what she could do. Even knowing that she could easily get locked inside that lab, she didn’t flinch. Killing a whole city may be out of the question, but sacrificing herself for the little Spanish bundle of excitement? Never.

Ada, despite all of her previous experiences, had started to pace. That in itself wasn’t worrisome, but the fact that he was now, too, getting anxious for the ungrateful brat’s return was unsettling.

“You allowed emotion to cloud your judgement.”

Ada didn’t even look up from the floor at the statement, nor stop her movements. “Wesker, I only brought her because she could do what we couldn’t alone. She was a new face with a capability to back it up. Emotion didn’t cloud my judgement when I got her, no. It really didn’t arise when you came back with the boy from the home-labs where they were going to try and create another virus from the boy’s blood. I didn’t care what happened to her or him then. To be honest, I don’t care if the boy is dead or not. But I’m worried for Leo. Emotion hasn’t impaired my judgement. If she stumbled out of there, infected, then I will shoot her in the head, throw her back in that terrible prison and seal the doors again. I’m worried she’ll come up alive without her brother. She loves that boy.”

“What she feels or thinks should hold no influence over you.”

At this, Ada stopped and gave him a sarcastic and annoyed look. “Like you did the first time we had sex? Or the time after that? Or when you saved my ass from Raccoon? Or when you appeared on my doorstep after Spain and wound up staying for three months without a day wasted?” She placed her hands on either side of him on the table and leaned over, her lips bare inches from his and her tone frosty against his burning skin. “Or was it like the night before New York and you actually admitted to me that you feared she wouldn’t make it out alive in time?”

Wesker’s scowl deepened immediately. “By comparison, our relationship transcends that of ours in relation with Miss Kennedy.”

“Sex doesn’t define a transcendance.” Ada whispered. “Admit it: you look at her like a Sherry Birkin you were never fortunate enough to have. And we both know Muller is beyond your reach. He doesn’t look like you, really, anyways. She’s blonde, she’s smart, she’s a quick learner and she’s got physical and mental strength in leaps and bounds. I’m her friend, Wesker, but she’s your baby. She’s that little girl that you would spoil with affection and gifts. She wouldn’t be an Alexia, but she would be yours.”

“I don’t want a child.”

Ada slid the glasses off of his face slowly, like she was trying not to startle him. “Maybe not, but you sure as hell want a protégé.”

“Do not sass me, woman.”

“I’ve done more of that than all the people on this planet combined have done to you, Albert.”

Wesker’s scowl deepened. “You would be the only one.”

The door slid open and Ada stood back up proper. Wesker remained seated, but his glasses were back in place.

Leo slammed the steel door back in place with a kick and walked, weighted, over to a cleared table. She slid her pistol into her holster and proceeded in laying down her brother, who had been slung over her shoulders.

The teenager arranged her younger sibling over the table and got busy checking for signs of infection. She ignored them fastidiously, and Ada could just feel Wesker’s annoyance rising. He didn’t take well to being ignored or being treated as anything less than a genius. Leo didn’t care about this anymore, however.

She was the kind of girl that never overstepped a boundary when she knew there was one, and that was a skill that many employees died before they learned. Wesker, however, had overstepped his bounds with her, so the kiddie gloves had come off. Just to do this was a gamble with Wesker around, especially when it was him you were treating like an annoying bug.

“Are you sure he’s not infected?” Ada asked, knowing that Wesker was just as concerned, despite his lack of emotion, pride being the only thing stopping him from asking the question himself.

“Positive.” Leo’s reply was quick and simple, like any woman unimpressed with some event that just occurred. She pulled Jason back over her shoulders and started for the next door. “I’m taking the Jeep.”

“For the love of God.” Wesker snarled, practically ripping the boy from his sister’s shoulders and cradling the teen much more comfortably in his arms. “We’re taking the chopper. Miss Wong, grab the keys.”

“Give him back to me.” Leo’s tone was cold and low. She started at Wesker like the man was asking for death, and under normal circumstances, he probably would have been.

“We’re taking the helicopter, Kennedy, and that’s final.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed and she hit him square in the solar plexus with the heel of her palm. All of the air disappeared from his lungs and the boy was taken from his grasp. Leo grabbed the keys to the Jeep and readjusted her brother on her shoulder.

“You know what, Wesker?” She threw him a dark smirk as the doors to the elevator closed. “Fuck. You.”

She didn’t jump when a dent caved in the doors of the elevator. The engineering in this place could withstand even the most horrible of nuclear apocalypses and she was sure Wesker wasn’t that strong. It gave her a sick sense of satisfaction to know that he was pissed off. She smiled darkly to herself and adjusted Jason again. The boy had gained weight, and she was tired. The sooner she could hit a city, the sooner she could get back to New York and sleep in her own bed. Things would work out for the better from here on in.

She only hoped that Jason had been asleep most of the time she’d been trying to find him.

**  
  
**

* * *

“Who is it, Jill?”

“She says her name is Leo. She said that you’d know her if you heard her.”

“I’ll take it.” There was a pause as the phone changed hands. “Hello?”

“Captain Redfield of the BSAA, am I right?”

“Yeah. Who are you?”

“I’m Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy, but I doubt that’s what you want to know. You can call me Leo. I’m the woman from New York. I just wanted to say that if you need a figure to pin this on, you’ve got my name.”

“Why did you do it?”

She sighed over the line and her voice became much more tired, like she had gained twenty years in a moment and a thick tone of despair took over. “Has someone ever held someone you love as a reward for helping them?”

“No, but I think I know what you’re getting at.”

“My brother was kidnapped. They had him, or knew where he was, at the very least, and if I assisted in the attack on New York, I got my brother back.”

“Why were they doing this?”

“A woman by the name of Svetlana Belakova hired a group of people to do her dirty work. The bitch. I know they weren’t the same people who kidnapped my brother.”

“Do you know their names?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are they?”

“I’m sorry, I really am, but I can’t tell you.”

“If they’ve threatened you-”

“I’m more than capable of my own defense, Captain Redfield. I’ll tell you anything else you want to know.”

“Are you still working for them? Is your brother secure?”

“He’s fine. Drugged with something, but uninfected and uninjured. And no, I’ve left. I don’t know if they’ve moved on yet from their hiding place.”

“Where is their current base, as far as you know?”

“It’s off the coast of Africa. Kijuju, I think it’s called. There’s an active volcano nearby.”

“I know exactly where you’re talking about. Where are you now?”

“If you’re wondering if I’m still in Africa, I am not. I’ve taken a car ferry across a narrow spot in the Mediterranean. I think I’m in Spain. Where’s your American office?”

“Washington. D.C.”

“Alright. Give me three days at most and I’ll be there. You can ask me all the questions you want.”

“What about your brother?”

“You’re leaving him out of this.”

“That may not be an option.”

“Make it one.” There was venom in her voice. “He’s a victim here.”

“Sounds like you are too.”

She laughed, quite bitterly. “Can I call you Chris?”

“Sure.”

“Chris, I’m far from innocent in this deadlock game of yours.”

“Why not work for the BSAA?”

“Because I’m a former terrorist with zero credibility?”

“And really, who besides me is going to hear this phone call?”

“That depends on how many agents and tape recorders there are in the room.”

“Just me.”

“Have you ever watched a movie? There’s always FBI or CIA or some shit monitoring the important phone call. But that doesn’t matter. I’ll meet you and we’ll work this out.”

“Where do you live?”

“No way, buddy. I gotta go. Catch ya later.”

“Leo-”

“Goodbye, Chris.”

Chris looked around himself, sliding down in his chair. Jill looked at him with concern, handing him a coffee. “What was that about?”

“I just got off the phone with the bioterrorist from New York.” Chris shook his head. “I’ve gotta got to the BSAA HQ. I promise to be back before nightfall.”

He kissed her on the head, equipped his pistol and was on his way.

* * *

The Jeep make a sighing noise as she turned it off. She carried Jason into their hotel room, despite the strange looks she was getting from the people around her. Thank god it was a retarded time in the morning and she was too tired to care. She hadn’t slept since New York and everything was going to hell. She’d almost hit a car twice and had decided it was time to call it quits.

She lay Jason down on the bed, still fully clothed, and fell down beside him, not even bothering to shower or wash herself up. She just collapsed on the bed, remained conscious long enough to get comfortable and passed out like a drunk two hours and a liquor store after last call.

* * *

Leo awoke in a much more posh hotel than the one she’d paid for. Her jacket and boots had been taken off, but she was laying on her harness. She sat up and groaned, feeling all of the tense muscles flex and stretch as she stood up.

“Finally.”

Leo spun around, her pistol aimed between Ada’s eyes. She was sitting on the edge of the other king size bed in the room. On the other side of that bed, Jason lay, clean and sleeping peacefully. He was even in new clothes.

“What?”

“About time you woke up.” Ada smiled and pointed to the kitchenette. “There’s sandwich stuffs there you can use. You should eat and probably shower. You have all the necessary supplies in the bathroom. Your new clothes are in the smaller black duffel bag. The large one, before you ask, is full of guns and ammunition.”

“What else do you want from me?”

Ada blinked at her. “Nothing.”

“Don’t bullshit me, please. You’re insulting me.” Leo sighed.

“I’m not.” Ada frowned. “I want to see you get out of this alive. There’s a lot of trouble you’ll face if you go to the BSAA. We don’t want to see that happen.”

“You tapped my phone.”

“To be fair, your phone is hardwired into an Umbrella frequency. Wesker turned on the radio and heard you speaking with Redfield.”

“So, you’re gonna march me up there and have me kill everyone there, too? Got Jason again, I see.”

“Watch yourself.” Ada scowled, standing. “I understand you’re pissed off, but taking this out on me will get you nowhere. Were it not for me, you would never see America again, despite how much news that would make. We didn’t have Jason from the beginning, Le-”

“I know you didn’t.”

Ada seemed surprised. “How?”

“There was you, me and Wesker in the Hive. Who the fuck else would have taken him? Wesker’s fast and all, but there were broken glass containers that looked far too much like sleeping gas for my comfort. Wesker would have just taken him. Besides, as for how little you actually knew about me, I’d say you never had me as a target for more than an hour, tops.”

“To be honest, I was expecting someone older than you to be home first. Someone I could blackmail shamelessly.” Ada sighed. “We’re taking care of you because we want to and going to the BSAA and offering yourself, no less, to be their scapegoat will only ruin your career and reputation. I realize Redfield will try and get as much out of you about your input as possible and try and spin it in a blackmail-type thing and it would probably be good to let him do that. He’ll work on helping you out if you help him as best you can. Tell him what he wants to know, I say. He hasn’t found me or Wesker yet, so he probably never will.”

“That’s not why you bothered to get an accomplice, if I remember correctly.”

“You’re right.” Ada raised her hands in surrender. “That was the plan. We were going to scapegoat you. But we can’t have you become a martyr, now, can we?”

“I suppose not.” Leo let herself smile slightly. “Thanks, Ada.”

“It’s not me you should be thanking. Wesker was the one who paid for and did everything.” Ada pulled back the covers and got in beside Leo’s younger brother. “Since we’ve yet to inform you, I’m sleeping with Jason and you’re bunking with Wesker. Be good.”

Leo rolled her eyes and headed for the shower.

* * *

Leo was picking at some cheese, sitting on the kitchenette’s counter. She was wearing her hiking boots, new, pale jeans, a simple black leather belt, a white tank top and a thick black kangaroo jacket over top. She had the zipper pulled down. Her hair was dripping every so often against the marble countertop, but she wasn’t paying attention. A pair of expensive and durable black parkour gloves lay untouched beside her.

The door opened and she looked up, seeing Wesker walk in. He was dressed, strangely, in a black suit with a black turtleneck underneath. The sheer elegance of the outfit made her raise an eyebrow.

“Where were you?”

Wesker snapped around, staring at her past his glasses. He scowled at her. “I owe you nothing.”

“Okay.” She shrugged and ripped off another piece of cheese. “Be that way, then.”

“Have you showered?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He moved around the small apartment-like hotel penthouse with purpose, but settled ultimately on pulling out their weapons and cleaning them, sitting down at the table in front of her. She didn’t offer him help. She didn’t do much of anything.

“Why would you bother?”

Wesker didn’t look up. “It was at Ada’s behest.”

“Doubt that. She likes me, but not that much.”

“You underestimate her attachment value.”

“Uh huh. That explains why you were the one that has been taking care of everything and why it’s you that’s sharing my bed instead of Ada.”

“She didn’t figure that you would appreciate me being close to your brother.”

“Mmm.” She hummed as she slid off the counter. “Keep thinking that. Maybe it’ll get you through the night.”

**  
  
**

* * *

When the guns were finished their cleaning, because he hadn’t already done that six times since leaving without firing them once, Wesker went in search of the youthful Kennedy. He found her on the roof, her legs hanging off the side with her arms stretched out behind her. She had on the gloves he’d bought with her in mind.

“Were you hoping for solitude?”

“Not really. I’ve had enough of that in the lead up on New York.” She replied. Her eyes were watching the Madrid skyline. “You changed.”

“I don’t feel quite as prepared when I’m in a suit. These clothes are much more flexible. More comfortable, in a word.”

“You should really try the yoga clothing. Now, that’s comfort.”

“I see your wit is unaffected.”

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I’m simply keeping an eye on you.”

“If you took off your shades, you’d have a better time doing that.”

“Don’t sass me.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I please, friendo.” She tossed him an arrogant smirk. He scowled. “Don’t be like that. You’re the one who came up here to be an ass. Can you really blame me for retaliating?”

“Yes, I can.”

She scowled and rolled her eyes, facing the skyline again. “Fuck off, Wesker. I don't want your company. I didn’t want your help. I didn’t want you to be a dick. Go watch tv or something. Leave me alone.”

“What do you hope to gain by submitting to the BSAA?”

“Forgiveness for an unspeakable act.”

“You will not receive it.”

“I know I won’t. But that I’m not afraid to admit I was wrong is my saving grace. To own up to what I’ve done is the only way I can repent for it.”

“Do you seriously think taking responsibility will change the outcome?”

“No. It’s life in prison for me. But it’ll make me feel better.”

“You didn’t destroy the city, Leo. Were it not for you, it would have been a Raccoon Incident all over again.”

“You’re not going to make me feel any different about this.”

“Stop being a blockhead and I would be able to.”

She laughed, smiling at him. “Yeah, okay, so I did everything I could to save people’s asses.”

“More than they deserved from you.”

They fell into a lull, just watching the nightlife of Madrid flicker around.

“Thank you, Wesker.”

“For what?”

“For helping me.”

* * *

**  
  
**

“I didn’t think to trace the call because she confessed everything to me. We did find the remains of an operation back in the old Umbrella/Tricell labs back in Kijuju, Africa. I can’t blame her if they were gone before we got there because she wasn’t there when she made the call. She was headed over to Spain.”

“Chris, she said she would come, but that doesn’t change the fact that she probably won’t.” Leon argued. “If she had half a mind, she wouldn’t come. Whoever she is, she can get off scott free with this one. No one knows her and her name stops showing up after age eight. That’s not even the weirdest part, though.”

“What else did you find?”

“Under Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy, her mother shows up as Helena Harper.”

There was a knock on the door that shattered the stunned silence that the two men had been in.

“Come in.” The door opened slowly and a young woman dressed in hiking boots, jeans, a grey t-shirt that clung to her like a second skin, black parkour gloves and a dark brown leather jacket walked into the room. She was a pretty blonde thing with blue eyes that pierced your soul and creamy skin. She had an identical haircut to Leon. She closed the door softly behind her. “Take a seat.”

She nodded and sat down stiffly in the chair beside Leon.

Chris smiled at her, trying to make her more comfortable. It didn’t work. “Who are you?”

“Aleora Kennedy.”

“So you’re the mysterious lady who called me. I can honestly say I didn’t expect you to actually show.”

She smiled mirthlessly. “Yeah, well, I’ve been told before that I’m just that stupid.”

“You’re not stupid.” Chris sighed and rubbed his eyes. “You told me before that you and your accomplices weren’t the illustrators of the attack, just the henchmen.”

“Svetlana Belakova hired my superiors to attack New York City with bio-organic weapons. As for all I’ve been able to find out, she was pissed off because an American put a hitch in whatever plans she had when she was the President of the Eastern Slav Republic. I guess those plans were huge, because she was really pissy the whole time we worked.”

“What is your education level?”

“My mother died when I was eight, Mr. Redfield. I didn’t get past that in my education level.”

“No tutors?”

“Well, whenever I’ve had time, I’ve taken English and Math. If you’re wondering if I have some sort of exemplary science education, I’m sorry to disappoint.”

“What did you do when you were working for Svetlana?”

“I guess I was the person who actually made the bombs. I did a lot of welding and manual labour.”

“You weren’t involved in the Virus’ making at all?”

“I’m a fast learner, but I don’t think I could have learned the advanced biomechanics I would need in a year.”

“It was a year-long operation?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you get anyone’s help?”

“The first thing I did was call the police.” She scowled. “All they said they would do was ‘look into it’.”

“Did you know what was happening when you were creating these devices?”

“Like I said, I’m not an advanced bioengineer. Whenever they would go off to do their thing, they never told me what was happening. I didn’t hear Svetlana’s voice until the day of the attack. Truth be told, were it not for her bitching at us to hurry, I wouldn’t have stopped the bombs. I didn’t know what I was building, just that I was building something.”

“What was your role in the attack?”

“I was supposed to distract the BSAA. That was my target. Keep you away from the bombs. That was the first time I’d heard the machines’ purposes. So, I went to stop them. That when your people got in the way.”

“Can you blame us?” Leon asked, cocking his head. She looked to him.

“You’re the man who I fought on the street. Huh. You look different in daylight. And no. No I can’t. But that doesn’t change the fact that I really wish you hadn’t.”

“Miss Kennedy, who were your companions?” Chris asked, reverting them back to their original topic. At this, though, she seemed to freeze up.

“Can I skip this one?”

“Why do you not want to tell me?”

“Have you ever known someone to be the bad guy, but they’re not actually a bad person?”

Chris paused for a moment. “To an extent.”

“That’s why.”

“I still don’t see why you wouldn’t tell me.”

“It was just a job.” She shrugged. “Can I call you Chris?”

“I don’t see why not.” She was getting more comfortable. Good.

“Chris, can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“How many people were killed in the attack?”

“Exactly sixty.”

Her brows furrowed. “Just sixty?”

“We got lucky because of you.” Chris smiled. “Thank you.”

“If I were to . . . turn myself in for this, what would the prison term be, do you think?”

“Considering the manipulation and the very fact that you were willing to run the risk of having the hostage harmed in order to save the city, I don’t think the charges would stand.” Leon said casually. “If they did, the USSS is prepared to intervene.”

“The Secret Service?” She looked even more confused. “Why?”

“Because you know how it runs. You are more valuable free and willing to help us than rotting away in some prison. Besides, with the fact that you legitimately did save the city, the public would be in an uproar.” Leon explained.

“There’s only one problem.” Chris interjected. “The name you’ve given us only shows up until the person is eight. From there it seems that you’ve disappeared from the records.”

“Look under Leo Kennedy.” She suggested.

“Was your mother Helena Harper?” Leon asked.

“Yeah. She died when I was eight, like I said.”

“What happened to you?”

“They were going to take me and my brother into foster care. I panicked and we ran away. I bought tickets to New York and we lived doing whatever small chores places would hire us to do.” She shrugged.” When I was twelve I got lucky and made it into a music career.”

“Music?”

She seemed to get sheepish. “I’m a singer.”

“Big time?”

“Yeah.”

”What’s your title?”

“Leo N. S. Kennedy. That’s what it says on the record.”

Chris quickly Googled it. “You look different.”

“One of my companions said I looked too . . . conspicuous.” She snickered a little to herself at the inside joke.

“I’d say. You certainly took the look in a whole different direction, that’s for sure.” Chris said, closing the browser. “Aleora, why would you come here today?”

She sighed and stared at him. “What do you want to hear?”

“The truth, preferably.”

“Because what I did, even if I mostly prevented it, is still wrong.”

“You’re not a singer, you’re a martyr.” Leon joked, half-heartedly. She smiled weakly back at him.

“What are you planning on doing to me, Chris?”

“I’m going to let you go.”

Her eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. “No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He laughed. “I have your testimonial right here. I recorded it.”

“I assumed no less.”

“So, there you have it. If we manage to bring in Svetlana, we have your version of events and we can question your brother. You’ve withheld the names of your accomplices, which is usually pretty bad, but since you went against them and all odds, despite what they’ve done to you, it really doesn’t matter. The BSAA is with you on this one, Miss Kennedy. And, as Leon’s already told you, so is the USSS. All we would ask is that, if called upon for a trial, that you would testify in front of a judge.”

“Gladly.” She said, relief, excitement and disbelief all mingled in her voice.

“Great. I’ll show you downstairs.” Chris smiled and she smiled back, her whole body vibrating with joy.

Just like Helena when Hunnigan and I told her of her acquittal for her involvement with Simmons’ plan. Leon shook his head and waited for Chris to return.

* * *

“Chris?”

“Mmm?” He looked down at the young woman beside him as they exited the BSAA headquarters.

“Can I . . . ask . . . something of you?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Could I join the BSAA?”

Chris blinked at her, caught off guard by her question. “I don’t see why not.”

“I’m gonna sound like a shithead when I say this, but I have an . . . idea for a set of terms.”

“Terms?” Chris got a sinking feeling that he wouldn’t really like where she was headed with this. After all, she was  a singer and was used to getting her way, despite the whole kidnapping incident.

“I have other commitments I have to meet outside of the BSAA were I to join. However, in recompense, I’m willing to work for free and completely fund the team sent after me in the New York attack.”

Chris had to have stared at her in bewilderment for a good five minutes because she became less confident as each second ticked by. “You’d do this job . . . for free?”

“People died because of me. I have to do something.”

“I’m not sure you completely understand what this job entails.”

“I know what I’m talking about, Chris, believe me. I’m not ‘on call’, per say, but I’ll try my best to renegotiate myself around other appointments, if necessary, for an assignment.”

“Tell you what. You go home tonight and be with your brother. I’ll pitch the proposal to my superiors and we’ll see what we can work out. I doubt they’d be obtuse to having you fund a team, but we have to see about your personal ability. Take this week and wind down, okay? I’ll call you with the answer.”

“Do have anything I can write my number on? You’re going to need it.”

* * *

Chris and Leon watched with the rest of Alpha Team as Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy dominated the training ground. There was only one target left, sneaking up behind her. They watched in fascination as she swung around, pulling the Hydra off of her back and firing it one-handed from her dangling position. She’d been suckered into a trap, with one hand caught in a wire that held her above the ground. How she managed to kill everything that came at her astounded the men, who always came out with at least one enemy that got them. So far, not one buzzer went off for Miss Kennedy. She holstered the shotgun and muttered a few curses before she started to swing on the rope making her dangle. She didn’t have much momentum going, but she was able to flip herself upside down and catch herself with her legs on the lip of the trap. From there, her concentration was set on undoing the rope wrapped around her wrist. She checked around herself every few seconds, making sure the people at the controls weren’t being dicks that day.

Somehow, she undid the rope and used core body strength it didn't look like she had to connect her palms with where her ankles were hooked. She sprung backwards in an amazing show of flexibility. She managed to twist completely around in mid-air to catch the ledge across from her. With that, she heaved herself back up again and grabbed the target data that was across the hole she’d fallen into. She jumped back into the hole, though, surprisingly, and made her way back across the course through the interconnecting tunnels underneath the main layout. She popped back up like a gopher at the beginning of the course and quietly slipped out of the giant room, ‘hostiles’ still roaming the upper passageways.

She walked into the viewing area with the USB full of ‘pertinent’ data and handed it to Chris. “Good enough for you?”

“More than enough. I have to show this tape to my superiors.”

“You said that they balked at my proposal, though.”

“Because you’re a woman, not even twenty, with no recorded military or martial arts training. We have to assume that the people who held your brother taught you self-defense and how to fight.”

“That they did.” She smiled. “I’ve got some scars to show for that.”

Chris winced, but didn’t ask the obvious question. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Glad to be of service.” She went to leave. “Oh, and tell Jill I said hello.”

Chris chuckled. “I will.”

* * *

“Wait.”

Leo stopped at her car and turned to face the USSS agent that accompanied Chris. “Yes?”

He extended a hand. “We’ve seen each other alot, but we haven’t formally met. I’m Leon Scott Kennedy.”

She took his hand. “Aleora Natalia Stacy Kennedy. Call me Leo.”

“Leo. Right. Are you hungry?”

“Uh . . . Sure.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “What? You wanna meet me for lunch?”

“What I have to tell you is probably going to take some time.”

“Alright. You can come over to my place. I’ll make something.”

**  
  
**

* * *

Jason wandered sleepily through his older sister’s house. She had cleaned up the place since he’d been taken and his bed once again smelled like fresh linen.

“So, this is her?”

“Yes.”

The little man stumbled in the room his older sister and some new stranger that looked like her were occupying and lazily tried to look at the same document as her. She picked him up and situated him on her lap.

“Mom. Wow.” Leo shook her head.

The man nodded. “I didn’t know either.”

“No, no. Mom used to tell me that the reason why I didn’t have a dad like all the other kids was because he was special. That the world needed him more than we did and to keep him would have been selfish on her part.”

“Selfish?”

“I took her diaries when I left. I only read them when I was old enough to understand them. She thought she was stupid to get pregnant in the first place. To tell you would have tied you to her. I didn’t know who you were, though, so that made finding you in the first place more than a little impossible.”

“What about on your birth certificate?”

“All is says is a slash and S. Kennedy. What the hell was I supposed to make of that? It stopped mattering after a while and I simply stopped paying attention.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I guess, in a strange way, it was good that she did what she did.” Leo smiled sadly down at the pages and photographs before her. A tear slid down her face that she didn’t dignify by wiping away. Instead, Jason picked it up on his finger and wiped it on his jeans. He frowned at her sadness, then hugged her tight. She choked out a laugh and hugged him back. “I also guess this means he’d not my biological brother.”

“He’s not.” The other man confirmed. “His biological mother was a woman by the name of Lucia Martinez. She was another USSS agent who had previously been told that getting pregnant would kill her. A drunken night changed her life. She died in childbirth and Helena was stated as the godmother in Lucia’s will.”

“But his name is Jason?”

“Helena named him. She signed off on the birth certificate for Lucia, but filled out the rest of the information in her own name. For example, his birth certificate says his mother’s name was Lucia, but on his medical records, his mother has never been anyone other than Helena, right down to taking him out of the hospital and paying the bill for the birth. As far as I know, Helena buried her, too.”

“Wow, Mom, wow.” Leo shook her head. The man smiled at the boy on her lap that seemed to have otherwise been forgotten.

“Hello. My name’s Leon.” He extended his hand to the child.

“I’m Jason.” The sleepy, though cheery, hispanic child replied. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve got stuff to show your sister about your mother.”

“You got stuff on Mom?” At this, Jason perked up. “Leo, what’s it say?”

“Mom wasn’t your mom, Jase.”

“What?” His face fell and he closed his eyes tightly against the tears.

“I’ll go. Call me if you need me.” Leon said softly.

Leo sighed. “I need you now.”

Leon settled back down in his chair. He slid over and enveloped the siblings in his arms. Jason cried onto both of them now, arm trying to wrap around both of them and the unfamiliar muscular tones. Leon gripped them tighter. For Leo, if just felt good to be held and to be the daughter and sister for once, instead of the mother, provider and caregiver all at once.


End file.
